Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette
Martin to the Phillies
Phillies grab Arkansas SS; Opitz undrafted
Hog goes in 3rd round; Watson Chapel pitcher picked by Cardinals.
FAYETTEVILLE — University of Arkansas shortstop Casey Martin took a slide in the Major League Baseball Draft on Thursday night before being selected by the Philadelphia Phillies with the 87th pick in the third round.
Martin had been ranked as the No. 30 prospect overall by MLB.com and the No. 28 college prospect available by D1Baseball.com, and he was projected as a late firstround or early second-round pick by most analysts. But he was the 14th shortstop taken and the 15th pick in the third round.
One of the fastest Razorbacks of all time, Martin hit a career .311 with 30 home runs and 112 RBI in two-plus seasons, but his strikeout total and his error count after moving to shortstop were clearly concerns for some teams.
The slot value for Martin’s pick was listed as $689,300 by MLB.com.
Razorbacks catcher Casey Opitz, who was thought to be a strong candidate for being chosen in the first five rounds, was not selected. He indicated teams offered to pick him but said in a tweet after the draft that the teams did not meet his asking price.
“Incredibly thankful for all the teams that made offers today,” Opitz wrote. “Sadly, I didn’t feel that it was the right fit this year. I appreciate the
love from [Kyle Peterson]! Blessed that this journey has brought me back to Fayetteville! Day 1 of 2021 starts tomorrow!”
He linked Peterson’s commentary on ESPN2, in which the analyst said, “Somebody needs to take Casey Opitz soon, because you’re missing out on a major league catcher that I think can catch and throw at the major league level right now.”
Players who were not taken in the 160-player draft can sign professional deals with a maximum deal of $20,000.
Martin, an All-SEC freshman selection in 2018, was a two-time second-team AllSEC pick. He could not be reached for comment.
ESPN’s Chris Burke gave a full assessment of Martin’s skill set.
“Explosive, fast-twitch player, with 30 home runs and almost a .550 slugging percentage,” Burke said. “How about the speed? 3.63 down the line and anything under 3.7 is world class.
“Now the athleticism, the arm strength, it’s all there. The issue, [his defense] was probably better at third base than it was at shortstop. At shortstop we had some throwing accuracy issues, no doubt about that, with 38 errors in two years.
“Why is he going in the third round? Big time swing and miss with 157 Ks [strikeouts] in 572 at-bats. There are at-bats where you’re not sure what he’s looking at. He’ll chase down. He’ll chase up.”
Vanderbilt Coach Tim Corbin faced the Razorbacks
and Martin in 2019.
“When you look at Casey, you probably can compare him in size to a guy like Alex Bregman,” Corbin said on MLB Network. “The tools are very explosive. There’s a power and speed combination in this player that doesn’t exist with a lot of other players.
“He gets down the line in under 4 seconds routinely. The power in the bat to both sides of the field is very noticeable. There’s a very good hit element to him. The thing I like about Casey the most is position versatility. He’s got the ability to play shortstop, second base and center field. This is going to prove to be a very good player in some organization.”
Harold Reynolds of the MLB Network likes the idea of keeping Martin at one position.
“When I first saw Casey Martin, he reminded me of a young Dustin Pedroia, even wearing No. 15 himself,” Reynolds said. “But the power inside, a ball in he can turn on. He can drive the ball. But the speed also is legit. This guy is explosive. He can run really well. I just think he’s got a chance that if you put him at second base he becomes a premier threat as a player. I think if you move him around to different positions you lessen that. If you leave him at second base, you get the most out of his abilities and he can affect the game at top notch.”
The Razorbacks had three of their Class of 2020 signees taken in the second and third rounds prior to Martin.
Right-handed pitcher and shortstop Masyn Winn of Kingwood, Texas, was taken in the second round with
the 54th pick by the St. Louis Cardinals, who then drafted right-handed pitcher Markevian “Tink” Hence of Pine Bluff Watson Chapel High with the 63rd pick in the competitive balance portion of the second round.
Outfielder David Calabrese of St. Elizabeth Catholic in Ontario, Canada, went to the Los Angeles Angels with the 82nd pick in the third round.
Drafted at those spots, the Arkansas signees are more likely than not to sign professional contracts and not wind up at school.
“I’m pretty sure I’m gonna go pro,” Winn told KRIV-TV in Houston. “I’m pretty sure the Cardinals are the way to go. They put their faith in me, their trust in me. I want to make them proud.”
The slot value of Winn’s draft spot is listed as $1.34 million by MLB.com.
ESPN analyst Kyle Peterson suggested Hence’s slot value of $1.08 million will make it hard for him to enroll with the Razorbacks.
“The upside at [age] 17 with the arm action at 96 is a pretty good time to take a chance on this because for Hence you could see the movement on the fastball,” Peterson said. “And you would hope the secondary stuff could grow over time.
“Arkansas was holding their breath thinking maybe they could get him to campus, but I would think at this spot he would be a signee.”
University of Central Arkansas right-handed pitcher Gavin Stone was the secondto-last pick of the night, at No. 159 by the Los Angeles Dodgers. His slot value was $372,200.